2G8 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 7,1887. 
of being planted much closer together and in shallower trenches, 
and consequently require less earthing up than the taller and coarser 
sorts. Sowings may be made from the beginning of March to the 
end of April ; the early ones in gentle heat, and the later or last 
in the open ground. I have already remarked that the quality of 
salading depends largely upon its being grown freely from first to 
last, and with Celery this is a point of first-rate importance. G-reat 
care should therefore be taken that the young plants sustain as 
small a check as possible in the one or two removals involved in 
cultivation. Given a good variety of Celery, I believe that pipy 
and stringy stalks and premature bolting may invariably be attri¬ 
buted to defective cultivation. Whether planted in single or double 
lines, in trenches, or in beds with the rows crosswise, Celery requires 
plenty of manure under it, and a bountiful supply of water or clear 
liquid manure during early growth and previous to the commence¬ 
ment of earthing up. The earthing should not be begun too 
soon, and preparatory to that each plant should have the side 
growths and a few of the small leaves removed, and be somewhat 
loosely tied round to keep the earth out of the heart, at the same 
time pressing the soil rather firmly between the plants. A second 
earthing will be required a few weeks later on, and when growth 
has nearly ceased a fine dry day should be taken advantage of to 
perform the operation finally, again taking care to keep the soil out 
of the heart of the plant. In the spring of the year the remains of 
the Celery crop may be dug up, and as much of it as is sound may 
be laid in carefully on the north side of a wall where it can be 
protected if necessary. The operation of removal is a check upon 
growth, and the shady position still further retards it, and thus the 
Celery season is considerably prolonged. 
RADISHES. 
Radishes require a generous soil, and in hot weather a somewhat 
shady position. Wood’s Early Frame is a good one to sow in gentle 
heat among early Carrots and Potatoes in February and March, and 
there is no nicer Radish than the French Breakfast to sow out of 
doors from March to the end of August. A sowing or two of 
Black Spanish made late in August and early in September, where 
they can have a little protection if necessary, are useful in the 
winter months. When Radishes are required to be dished up by 
themselves they look much better if, instead of chopping all the 
leaves off to one length, two or three of the larger ones are re¬ 
moved entire and the green seed leaves left on. 
CHICORY AND FRENCH DANDELION. 
Chicory and French Dandelion sown in drills about the middle 
or end of May, or even early in June, are quite invaluable for 
lifting and forcing in a dark place in the winter time. If sown 
earlier than the time named, these crops throw up their flower 
stems ciuring the autumn, and are thereby either quite spoiled, or 
at least much deteriorated. 
BEET. 
Beet, when in good order, exactly fulfils the conditions of a 
salad plant, as it is not only good for food but pleasant to the 
eye. It thrives best in a light friable soil that has been well 
manured for previous crops. A good time to sow is from the end 
of April to the 20th May. The Beet is a tender plant, and if sown 
too early is liable to be injured, or even killed, by late spring 
f rost3; it is also subject to run to seed, and thus become useless! 
Small or medium-sized roots that are free from “ forks ” are the 
best, and especial care should be taken at the time of lifting to 
avoid all cuts, breaks, and bruises, as upon this depends the brilliant 
colour aud fine flavour so highly prized at table. Three good sorts 
to grow are the Egyptian Turnip-rooted, Pine Apple Short-top, 
and Nutting’s Dwarf Red, and there are others equally good. 
MUSTARD AND CRESS. 
Mustard and Cress need but few remarks beyond this, that in 
their treatment we must diverge a little from the good old rule of 
‘‘sow thin, and sow often,” and instead we must sow thickly, and 
often, and evenly, on a level surface in shallow boxes during winter 
aud spring, and in summer a shady place out of doors will suit them 
well. The two crops should always be sown separately, and the 
seed should be kept dark and moist until germination takes place, 
which will be a little quicker with Mustard than with Cress. Rape 
is sometimes used in this way, but it is altogether inferior in aualitv 
to White Mustard. 
LAMB’S LETTUCE. 
Corn Salad, or Lamb s Lettuce as it is sometimes called, is a 
useful and easily managed salad plant. It may be sown at any time 
in good free soil, either thickly, to be cut in the mass like Mustard 
and Cress, or thinly, to be utilised when the individual plants are 
big enough. It may also be pressed into service, if needed, by 
being sown in shallow boxes and brought on in gentL heat. 
RAMPION. 
Rampion is a salad plant not often seen nowadays, and yet it is 
easily managed by the timely observance of one or two points of 
cultivation. Several sowings may be made during the spring and 
early summer in very fine soil. This is an important point both as 
regards the seed-sowing and the after growth of the root. The 
seeds are very small and smooth, and the long white Radish¬ 
like root is liable to “ fork ” if the soil is lumpy. The seed is 
best sown in very shallow drills, and the crop should be duly 
thinned and kept free from weeds, and well watered during dry 
weather. The root is the part eaten, and it should be peeled before 
being committed to the salad bowl to add its sweet nutty flavour to 
the rest of the appetising compound. 
WATERCRESS. 
Watercress may be utilised as a salad plant at any time, its 
peculiar flavour and aroma being always agreeable. Boxes of any 
sort or size filled with roots planted in ordinary good soil, and 
placed in a little heat, or even in a cold frame, and frequently and 
plentifully douched with clean water, will soon give plenty of 
Cresses. Cucumbers, to do them justice, require a paper to them¬ 
selves, and my paper is, I fear, already too long, so I must pass 
them by. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
A green salad, consisting chiefly of Sorrel, Dandelion, and 
Burnet, may be gathered in our meadows during the summer 
season, and many such are gathered by the foreign workmen 
resident amongst us. Burnet is said to give the flavour of 
Cucumber to a salad, and curiously enough the foreigners seem 
all to know the plant we call Burnet by the name of “ Pim¬ 
pernel,” while we attach exactly the same name to a plant which 
is botanically and otherwise totally distinct, the one being Poterium 
Sanguisorba, and the other Anagallis arvensis. The mixing of a 
salad can hardly fail to be of interest to a gardener, even though 
he is not called upon to do it, and here, as a rule, his interest 
in it ceases. There are probably as many recipes extant for the 
purpose as there are for curing a cold, and I will not undertake to 
decide which is best, but here is one written a many years ago by 
the Rev. Sydney Smith, a noted wit and divine, and not unacquainted 
with the good things of this life :— 
“ Two large Potatoes, passed through kitchen sieve, 
Unwonted softness to the salad give; 
Of mordant mustard add a single spoon, 
Distrust ihe condiment which bites so soon : 
But deem it not, thou man of herbs, a fau't, 
To adl a double quantity of salt. 
Three times the spoon with oil of Lucca crown, 
And once the vinegar procured from town. 
Ti ue flavour needs it, and your poet begs 
The poundtd yellow of two well-boiled eggs. 
Let Onion atoms lurk within the bowl, 
And scarce suspected animite the whole ; 
And lastly, on the flavoured compound toss 
A mag’c teaspoon of anchovy Fauce ; 
Then, though green turtle fails, though venison’s tough, 
And ham and turkey are not boiled enough, 
Serenely full, the epicure may say, 
Fate cannot harm me—I have dined to-day I " 
Vol. viii. of the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society is 
devoted to the frost report, which has been in hand for a consider¬ 
able time, and is dealt with in a voluminous manner. It has been 
prepared by the Rev. G. Henslow, M.A., and gives a great number of 
summarised and tabulated reports “on the effects of the severe frosts 
on vegetation during the winters 1879-80 and 1880-81.” Particulars are 
furnished with each report as to the general character of the soil where 
the observations were made, the altitude and exposure, the rainfall, the 
minimum temperature, and a list of the plants injured, together with 
general observations. A useful index is given to the names of plants 
mentioned in the course of the 338 pages comprised in the work. An 
index is also furnished to the counties, and an interesting introduction 
by the Editor. 
- Muscat Grapes in April.— When Muscat Grapes are kept 
till April they are in our experience more or less shrivelled ; b it we h ive 
